Page 70 of Fear of Falling

The little encouragement made my stomach flutter.

“Try pushing off the ice a little.” He kept us at a slow speed letting his skate’s glide.

Taking a steadying breath, I pushed my foot down and back against the ice. It wasn’t much of a push but I moved forward an inch or two on my own. I did it again, a little bit harder,moving across the ice better than before. My head snapped up and looked at Wyatt with a wide grin.

“You’re doing great.”

Feeling empowered, I loosened my death grip on his arms and lifted my foot a centimeter off the ice to try and glide forward. Excitement grew when I didn’t wobble or fall on my ass.

“Okay, you ready?” At his words I paused.

“Ready for what?” I felt his hands slowly release my elbows, which only made me re-grip his forearms. “No.” I shook my head, knowing what he was about to do.

Like taking training wheels off a bike. I’m not ready.

“Babe, you’ve got this.” He gave me an encouraging smile, prying his forearms from my grip. “Just skate towards me.” Wyatt put more distance between us.

He makes it sound so easy.

Despite my nerves, the need to prove myself swelled within me as I eyed the distance between us. It was the same feeling I got when I used to run competitively. The desire to prove to myself that I can do something, even if it’s hard.

So, with shaky legs, I slowly pushed off the ice. I braced myself, ready to fall, but surprisingly, my skates glided across the ice. Albeit, not as smoothly as Wyatt, but better than before. Holding my arms out for balance, I ever so slowly pushed myself across the ice. Every time I got close to Wyatt, he skated a bit further away, hovering like a mother hen in case I fell.

“Look at me!” I yelled, unable to help myself.

“Already a pro.”

Wyatt stayed by me as I kept on skating, going a little bit faster each time. I was still a bit shaky, and my arms flailed whenever my balance took a wobble. But with each push off the ice, I felt increasingly confident.

Deciding I was ready for more, I made the idiot decision to try a little spin. I knew it was a bad idea as soon as I made themotion to turn. I heard Wyatt call my name as I twisted, my skates hooking together. I knew I was going to fall hard as my arms flung out and the ice rushed up to meet me. As I braced myself, eyes closed, when a large body flew into mine. I felt Wyatt’s arms wrap around my middle, holding me roughly, as the two of us slid across the ice.

We came to stop a second later with me cradled in Wyatt’s arms, my own around his neck. I opened my eyes to find him staring down at me in concern.

“Are you okay?” His eyes roamed my body the best they could with the position we were in. Wyatt’s face centimeters away from mine.

“I’m okay,” I answered breathlessly. Glancing down, I noticed Wyatt was on his knees.

Like he ran and slid on his knees to catch me in time.

I wanted to swoon at the action, but I quickly remembered his knee injury.

“Your knee!” I wriggled out of his grasp, falling back onto the ice. I didn’t register the bite of the ice as I moved onto my knees, taking my turn to look him over. “Are you okay?”

If I’m the cause of Wyatt re-injuring himself, I will never forgive myself.

“What were you thinking? You could have gotten hurt.” My hands fluttered around his knees as if I could help. He seemed okay, but what did I know?

“Me? You were going to fall and hurt yourself,” Wyatt shot back. His tone wasn’t angry, more like he was taken back that I was worried about him and not myself.

“So? I’m not the one with a hockey career to think about,” I scolded. “I’m disposable.”

My ex used to tell me that all the time, and in this moment he was right. Out of the two of us, I was the one who could stand to get hurt and not have my life ruined. Not Wyatt.

“Josie.” It wasn’t my name that made me pause, it was the way he said it. Wyatt shifted on his knees and brought his hand up to my chin holding it firmly, bringing my gaze to his. “You arenotdisposable.” Those gorgeous blue eyes pierced straight into mine. “You willneverbe disposable. Not to me”

When I tried to look away from his intense stare, he just held my chin tighter.

“I know we haven’t known each other long and you don’t believe me yet, but you will.”

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